


Heart of Steel

by TarviaAeducan



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: ....dontjudge, Brotherhood of Steel - Freeform, F/M, WhenIthinkofmoretagsipromisetoaddthem, uuuuhyeahimbadattags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-16 15:42:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9278423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TarviaAeducan/pseuds/TarviaAeducan
Summary: Aurora Page knew almost for certain that she was never going to escape this time from the raiders, but when the Brotherhood of Steel rolled into town her luck changed. Her world is soon flipped upside down and she finds herself face to face with Elder Arthur Maxson...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo.... It's been a while since I've uploaded anything here. I'm a little nervous putting up another story again and hope you all like it!

A dull throbbing pain spread across the back of Aurora’s head. As she woke from a troubled slumber, her vision blurred as her eyes painfully peeled open. From the dark shadows spread out beyond the haze of smoke and fire, she could tell it was late into the night. However, the immediate area surrounding Aurora was lit up in blinding orange and red hues of blazing fires, hurting her strained and sore eyes. The smoke wafting off the infernos was thick and toxic. It scorched her throat causing her to cough uncontrollably as she choked on it. With a shaky hand, Aurora reached out in front of her hoping to grasp onto the bars of the cage she had been thrown into. She tried desperately to steady herself as she stumbled to her feet, but was met with searing pain the moment her skin touched metal. Quickly, she jerked her burning hands back to herself and stared in disbelief as her eyes finally adjusted fully. 

All around, there were cages pressed close together like the one she found herself trapped in. Individuals were stuffed inside the dismal enclosures like wild animals, all of them held against their will. At the top of every cage, wires had been secured tightly to them. They all twisted and rose through the air above the encampment, attached to poles only to meet together out of the reach of the captives. From there they twisted together and attached to large generators powering and allowing them to electrify the metal cages. The machines hummed so loudly it was hard to think clearly near them. 

Whoever imprisoned them had to have been sick and twisted. Aurora could not see anyone walking freely through the camp; she wasn’t sure she wanted to, given the state of things. Despair sunk into the pit of her stomach and tears began to sting her eyes. Clasped tightly around the necks of most the hostages were collars made from metal. Blinking red lights attached to the devices as well as wires running all around. Aurora reached up to feel her own throat and sighed in relief when she found nothing there. Whatever those collars were for, she knew for certain it wasn’t a good thing at all.

A soft, shifting noise from behind suddenly grabbed Aurora’s attention. Huddled up in the corner was another woman not much older than she was. The woman watched her like a hawk before pushing herself up off the ground to step over closer to Aurora. 

“All the new people learn one way or another not to touch the bars. Raiders keep it lit up so us slaves won’t even dream about escaping.”

Her voice was raspy and harsh but barely rose above a whisper. A thick scar crossed her throat, and Aurora realized that must be the cause of her hoarseness. Now that she looked even closer, the poor woman was covered in even more scars, no doubt due to the rough handling she must have endured from the Raiders holding them. Several wrinkles stretch out from the corners of the woman’s grey eyes and the hair on her head was a dirty blonde and streaked with grey. It had been cut very short giving, and the hard expression she wore gave her a tough look. Still, she gave Aurora a quick smile as she huddled closer to her. 

“I’m Corrine by the way.”

“Aurora…” She returned the smiled to Corrine before looking about the cage they were trapped in again.

As she examined their prison once more, Corrine grabbed her gently by the wrist and pulled her hands up to exam them. The skin was raw and blistered to a bright angry red. It stung terribly but Aurora told herself she hand endured much worse before, and prayed that she would suffer more in the futures. Chance of that, she also noted, were slim.

Aurora knew just how ruthless Raiders could be, having been born and raised right outside of Lexington into a small community of other settlers. Would still be there too, she reminded herself, if it were not for the Raiders swooping in. They just started to appear out of nowhere in small numbers at first. Crops and a few animals began vanishing with no reason as to why before an elderly neighbor caught them in the act. The raiders left the man bloody and battered for the others to find the next morning. Her father had brought him into their home and her mother had patched him back up the best she could. Almost two weeks past by, with the raiders visiting every night before the entirety of the marched in to take over Lexington completely. In the chaos from it all, Aurora ended up being separated from her family and left to wander on her own. It was this wandering that had led to the predicament she found herself in.

Suddenly her attention was brought back to reality by the sound of ripping cloth. Corrine bound her singed hands in little strips of dirty cloth. They were lucky to even have that available to them, as the makeshift bandages had been torn off what looked to be an old blanket on the floor. Once Shan

“We’re lucky a managed to hide this away… You know I saw them drag you in here.” The older woman cackled to herself and grinned. “You put up one hell of a fight. Managed to break one of their noses before they bashed you over the head and threw you in here.”

Aurora reached up and felt the back of her head and winced. A hit like that undeniably explained why she awoke with such a splitting headache. It was still very tender to the touch and she sighed before dropping her hand back to her side. So many thoughts ran through her mind needing answers now. She looked up at Corrine and soon the questions came tumbling out.

“Do you know where we are? How long have you been here? What kind of raiders actually do this, I though they only took weapons and supplies…”

Corrine shushed her quietly before taking a seat once more on the ground below them and motioned for Aurora to do the same. She did so, curling up next to her needing to hear anything at that point.

“I’m not entirely sure where we are, it’s getting harder to keep track now…” She began, “ I’ve been tossed around for years now since I was your age. I’m from the Capital originally and was captured there. As for a why, I can’t give you any real answer, I wish I knew why as well.”

Questions still swirled around in her head. She just had to have answers. More importantly, she needed to try and figure out what the chances of escape were and if anyone had managed it, but before she could something startled her and Corrine both. Coarse laughter and the sound of rumbling voices spread throughout the area, seeming to get closer and closer to them. Aurora’s blood started to run cold and she froze as she saw the group of raiders dragging in their newest batch of victims.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The horrors of being captured by raiders come into full view for Aurora. Escape is her only choice of saving herself and the others trapped in the camp, but things don't go quite as she had expected....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I just wanted to apologize for how long it's taken me to get this chapter out. between catching the flu in january and a little bit of heartbreak earlier this month, I just didn't feel like writing. Everything's all better now though, and I hope everyone likes this chapter! ^_^ I'll try to get the next one out a bit faster.

The Raiders had not been kind to their new acquisitions. By midday there were only a handful of the settlers left out of the near two-dozen that had been brought in the night before. Aurora watched it all. The weak and elderly were done away with first. After being split up from the others, the Raiders corralled them in the middle of the area the cages were kept. Cheers and cackles broke out amongst the raiders as their first victim was hurled to the ground. One raider stepped forward, sledgehammer in hand. He nudged the toe of his boot against the man, flipping him on his side before delivering a swift kick to his gut. The old man cried out in pain and curled up holding his stomach as raider lifted the hammer and rested it against the side of the man’s head. He pulled back his arms and swung the hammer high in the air with a twisted smirk on his face before slamming it downward. His skull gave way with the most sickening cracking noise followed by a feeble cry escaping his lips. Bright crimson blood splattered from his head along with other tissue before he fell silent after the sledgehammer connected with him a second time. It wasn’t long then till the sound of other weapons slamming into more and more bones and flesh were heard. The whole scene was revolting, causing Aurora to shut her eyes quickly and look away. It was like seeing a cat toy with a mouse before devouring it and she could not stomach it. 

The rest of the new slaves were hastily divided into the existing cells around them. Raiders prodded the weapons they still held at those being pushed into the cages and sneered and laughed more. When Aurora lifted her head again she saw a girl, who couldn’t have been much older than herself, being dragged off by two male raiders who had being leering at her the moment she had been brought in. The girl kicked and fought as she was taken away and not long after her screams filled the air. It enraged Aurora. She jerked forward at the bars shouting only to be pulled back by Corrine.

“Ain’t no use, they can’t hear you and it’s not like they’ll stop. They just take what they want and when they want it.” 

Aurora threw herself down in a corner of the cage seething in anger. Something had to be done. The other people trapped as she was deserved their freedom. The raiders deserved far worse than what they could give, she decided. She wanted to be the one to give it to them if she could. First though, Aurora needed to find her way out of her current prison. Then she told herself, she would find a way to help the others.

“If you keep that look on your face for much longer, I think I might be the one to drop dead.” A hand touched her shoulder softly and she was snapped out of her thoughts. Corrine smiled at her slightly. “You look like a woman ready to do something stupid. Stupid gets you killed here.”

“I’m sorry, didn’t mean to.” She sighed and rubbed her face before looking back up at her, “Has anyone attempted to escape while you’ve been here?”

“Sure they have, but they never last long. Last one to get out made it a hundred feet out of camp before being gunned down.”

A scowl crossed Aurora’s face. It wasn’t the best news to hear, but at least she knew it was possible to at least breakout. For now she needed to watch and wait. At some point or another, the raiders would have to slip up on something. The moment that happened, Aurora was bound and determined to gain her freedom. She would have to start watching the like a hawk and soon to do so.

By nightfall she had found exactly what she needed to attempt her escape. Right before sundown she had noticed a lone raider walking around with a bucket in hand. She had first turned the generators electrifying the bars of all the cages off. Once that was done, she started on the far side of where Aurora was being kept, and stopped at the first group of slaves. A grin twisted across her features as she lifted an old beaten ladle from the bucket and slung the contents of it at the people held within. Some flinched while others dove at the swill as it splattered across the dirty floor. One young boy leaped at a heap of so called food. He scraped what he could of the putrid smelling paste up before anyone else around him could reach it. Just as he was about to devour what little food he’d received, the raider stomped her foot into the bars of the cage causing them to rattle. The noise and movement startled him and he spilled what would have been his only food all over himself as he cowered in fear. As the boy’s body hit the back of the cage the raider grinned more and laughed to herself before moving on. 

The cycle continued until the raider had finally reached Aurora and Corrine. Aurora spotted a set of keys as the woman made her way to them and made a split second decision. She looked over at Corrine and gave her a slight smile before her eyes rolled back into her head and body slumped to the floor. 

“Hey… Hey you in there… What the hell is wrong!” The raider’s voice was starting to sound a bit panicked as Aurora fell. Keys rattled around in the lock on the door before it flew open and she rushed in. Corrine reached for Aurora seeming concerned, but as she reached for her, the raider struck Corrine. The blow sent her toppling to the floor, and that was when Aurora pounced. She took the woman by total surprise, grappling with her as soon as she was in reach. The two of them went tumbling to the floor together. They wrestled around on the filthy floor till Aurora got the upper hand. She managed to pin the raider beneath her before slamming her fist down into the woman’s face. The punch stunned the raider for a moment but didn’t keep her from fighting back. She clawed at Aurora’s face with her nails and gouged at any exposed skin in an attempted to drive her away. Aurora held on though. She grabbed the raider by the hair and slammed her head back onto the hard ground. After slamming her head back once more, the raider was knocked out cold and Aurora quickly scrambled to her feet. 

“Are you going to come along?” 

Aurora extended a hand out to Corrine to help her up to her feet. “It might not be the best idea to stay in here.”

Corrine’s gaze shifted warily from the unconscious raider laying just inches away from her to the hand that had been offered to he.

“You’ve been here longer than I have, right?” Aurora gave the older woman a pleading look.

“…Two years. This place was only a few shacks and tents then.”

“Then I really could use your help. You can help me figure out how to get out of here. We can get help for the others maybe. Free everyone. “

A wave of relief washed over Aurora quickly as Corrine finally took her hand. She quickly pulled the woman up onto her feet before making her way over to the unconscious raider. With a quick search she found what she had been hoping for and pulled a set of keys away from her belt. She gave the raider a good hard kick to the side for added measure before dragging Corrine out of the cage. Once they were out she slammed the door shut and slid the key into the lock and turned it, making sure the newest captive would not escape.

“There now. She won’t be a problem for us! The others wont bother coming to help someone screaming in a cage, and it buys us a bit more time.”

Corrine was starting to shake once she stepped foot out of their former prison. As the door slammed and locked tight, she let out a faint whimper. Aurora turned and smiled softly seeing the shape she was in. She reached over taking her hand in her own again and squeezed it gently. The need to try and calm Corrine was overwhelming in that moment, but she knew that if they were going to stay out of sight and ahead of the raiders they needed to leave immediately. She kept a hold of the hand clasping tightly to hers as they slunk away cautiously. As they past the other still captive slaves her face contorted into a disappointed grimace and she didn’t dare look at their faces. Once they got out and found help Aurora swore she would free them all but for now seeing them still trapped was too painful to see.

“Alright Corrine, I need you to tell me where to go now. Can you do that?” Her voice barely rose above a whisper not wanting to attract the attention of any raiders that might have been nearby.

“I… I think so… I…yes.”

“Good, lead the way then.”

Aurora slunk along right behind Corrine. The area they had been held at was up on a small hill, right next a rocky cliff. All around them, tall fences had been set up from various types of scrap metal and wood. It encompassed everything with no visible way out. As they neared the bottom of it, she gasped in awe of the sight spread out in front of her. An entire Raider fortress stretched out across the ruins of an old excavation sight. Patrols stalked around the top ramps and walkways of the stone quarry, keeping a sharp eye out for any kind of trouble coming their way. Dense, sticky, putrid mud coated the floor at the bottom of the quarry. Along with the foul sludge there was also a broad but shallow stagnant pond in the middle. The pond itself had been fenced in to contain the mirelurks that were kept inside. Blood stained the mud and water throughout the pin as if fighting took place in it. More pools of blood trailed away from the gate of the pin down a worn path to a shocking final destination. Mutilated bodies had been piled together in a morbid and rotting heap. On top of it all laid the disrobed and maimed body of the girl that had been dragged away by raiders. 

A gasp caught in Aurora’s throat and she had to clamp her hand over her mouth to remain silent. Her eyes stung fiercely from tears and she was forced to look away from the girl. The need to run at that moment was so strong she started to stumble back from the cliff before Corrine caught her by the arm.

“If you run, they’re going to find us both. We have to do this slowly.”

She knew that Corrine was right, and took a deep breath to steady herself. They both took a few more steps forward towards an old rusted staircase leading around the top of the quarry when suddenly a spotlight switched on and focused on them.

“Run!” Corrine shouted at the top of her lungs.

Aurora didn’t have to be told twice. Both women started running as fast as their legs could carrying them down the stairs and along walkways. All the while the raiders were shouting, loading their weapons, and firing down at the two of them. They both darted through what seemed like a labyrinth like mice looking for their escape. More raiders started chasing after them, hot on their heels but Aurora and Corrine managed to stay ahead. After several more minutes, Aurora swore she could see what looked like a gate. 

That’s when she heard it. One shot had rang out and suddenly Corrine’s hand gripped onto her shoulder before going weak and sliding away. She hit the ground with a thud and Aurora turned around quickly reaching to pull her along but stopped. Corrine’s eyes were frozen in fear and she gasped for air. A bullet and ripped through her chest causing blood to pour rapidly from the wound. Aurora screamed, and dropped to her knees beside the older woman. Frantically, she pressed her hands against the wound trying to stop the flow of blood but it was too late. All the blood had started pooling beneath Corrine’s body as she stared lifeless and glassy-eyed up at Aurora.

The brief stop had been all the raiders needed to catch up to Aurora. Another shot went off, this time ripping through Aurora’s shoulder. She cried out in pain as she lurched up onto her feet and tried to run but only managed to get a short distance. A gun was brought down onto the back of her head and she crumbled to the ground before everything went black.


End file.
